washing the towels after detailing

[pasadena_commut]

The folks on this list use a very diverse set of chemicals for cleaning their cars, all of which, along with road filth, end up on the towels at the end.



So how do you get the towels clean so that they can be used again?



Some of that stuff will come off with regular laundry soap, but things like wax and tar are not so easy.



My method is not 100% effective. I soak the towels in Simple Green for a couple of days, agitating once in a while, then rinse them thoroughly and run them through a washer with whatever laundry detergent we have laying around. This gets them pretty clean, but tends to leave the blackest streaks (tar, grease, and the like).

 

[Accumulator]

Washing in *VERY* hot water helps. While products like MicroRestore work pretty well (as do APC soaks, Dawn Power Dissolver, and other such stuff), sometimes stains/etc. just don't come out and then that towel gets relegated to non-critical applications.



I try to get really nasty stuff off with free-rinsing media (e.g., BHBs) if possible and I'll sometimes use disposable wipes (basically fancy paper towels) for jobs like that. My good towels (both cotton and MF) simply don't get used in ways that'll leave them badly contaminated.

 

[Sudz On The Run]

I drop mine off to the cleaners and for 5 bucks they clean 10 pounds and they come back brand new. That's your best bet IMO

 

[Accumulator]

I drop mine off to the cleaners...

Cotton or MF or both?

 

[DM101]

In washing machine hot water tide, purple power and dawn dishwashing detergent. Extra rinse with 2 oz of vinegar.

 

[efnfast]

Since I started using ONR, i've found once I've cleaned a panel if I dunk it into my wash bucket and hand rub it, all the dirt/stains/etc... immediately come out and the mf towel looks brand new when I'm finished.



Only exception to this is for lower body work where the real crap builds up, but for there I just use a 'junk' mf - hey, even I don't take a sun gun/brinkman/halogen light and lay on my back looking at the bottom sideskirts for swirls :laugh:

 

[Accumulator]

..hey, even I don't take a sun gun/brinkman/halogen light and lay on my back looking at the bottom sideskirts for swirls :laugh:

Ack, you don't?!? Bad Autopian, BAD :nono



Heh heh heh....

 

[Passrat]

I've been using Micro Rejuvinator and the other cheaper one in the clear bottle. Mostly because I don't want soap residue left behind and I'm new at this so I'm still learning.



There's an amazing cleaner/degreaser called Bio Green Clean that is incredible at cleaning just about anything. It blows Simple Green right out of the water! You dilute it anywhere from 1:1 up to 30:1 and it dissolves anything I put it on almost instantly! I only just tried it on a micro yesterday and it's C L E A N... But like I said I want to be careful not to mess up the micro's. Although it is a "Green" product, made of coconut extract and amino-acid compounds. It blows away Fantastic, 409 and any other standard product I've ever tried. It's only online though.

Ingredients

Made with purified water, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients derived from leafy green vegetables, edible seeds and seed-bearing plants, it's the first cleaning product of its kind to utilize a revolutionary and advanced technology. Simply put, it's specially formulated to dissolve dirt and grime without toxins. The result? A pure cleaning product you can trust to clean better than any other product you've tried.



Bio Green Clean | Natural Cleaners | Non-toxic Cleaners | Stain and Odor Remover | Pet Odor Remover

 

[khjr]

Washing in *VERY* hot water helps. While products like MicroRestore work pretty well (as do APC soaks, Dawn Power Dissolver, and other such stuff), sometimes stains/etc. just don't come out and then that towel gets relegated to non-critical applications.



I try to get really nasty stuff off with free-rinsing media (e.g., BHBs) if possible and I'll sometimes use disposable wipes (basically fancy paper towels) for jobs like that. My good towels (both cotton and MF) simply don't get used in ways that'll leave them badly contaminated.

Interesting. I've been following David B's recommendations in his article on caring for microfiber (pasted below, for reference) since I started detailing my car a few months ago. David recommends washing in cold water only.



Are the towels you're washing in hot water made of microfiber, or cotton?



If they're microfiber, and you're still washing them in hot water, then I assume you haven't suffered any bad effects.



Also, can you recommend any tricks on getting klasse residue out of towels?



I made the mistake of letting Sonus Glanz dry into some of my better buffing cloths after wiping it off wet. They don't appear to be gritty, based on a CD test, but they just don't feel the same now. I was thinking of soaking them in rubbing alcohol...



From David's Article:



"MAINTAINING MICROFIBER

I've read a lot of tips on how to clean and care for microfiber. People seem to be all over the map with their recommendations. It's really very simple.



The best general purpose cleaner is a liquid detergent. It's better to use too little than too much. Liquid is recommended over powder because some powders do not completely dissolve and the granules will lodge in the toweling.



Wash in cold water only. Warm water can be tolerated, but hot water cannot. Polyester and polyamide both shrink in hot water. If you wash in hot water the fibers will shrink and the towel will not perform as intended.



Do not use fabric softeners of any kind. The softener will become lodged in the microfiber reducing its ability to absorb water, clean and pick up dirt. In short, you'll have a soft towel that's useless.



Do not dry above medium heat. Treat microfiber towels the same as you would your delicate clothing. Drying with high heat is worse that washing in hot water.





If you need a wash detergent booster. the best over the counter product I have found so far is OxyClean. This product I do use in the powder form because as soon as it hit water it disolves and begins producing vapor cleaners. One full scoop works great.



Here's another tip. If you can catch your towels on the rinse cycle, pour in a cup of distilled white vinegar. This is what housewives did back in the 40's and 50's before fabric softeners were available. It works great on microfiber and really does a nice job fluffing the fibers back up to make them feel super soft again."

 

[efnfast]

Ack, you don't?!? Bad Autopian, BAD :nono



Heh heh heh....

I'll do better next wash

 

[Accumulator]

Interesting. I've been following David B's recommendations in his article on caring for microfiber (pasted below, for reference) since I started detailing my car a few months ago. David recommends washing in cold water only...

I don't mind politely disagreeing with anybody (David B included ), or at least pointing out differing experiences. Please don't take this as some :argue but rather as just suggestions based on my experience.



*IME* hot, even very hot, water does not damage the MFs I use. Some people here even boil them, and one set of my MFs came with instructions to boil them before the first use. I've never done it due to the hassle factor, but my washer's "sanitary" cycle gets *very* hot and I've never experienced any negative effects from that.



Perhaps its a YMMV situation, dependent on the MF in question :nixweiss

Are the towels you're washing in hot water made of microfiber, or cotton?

Both. I treat the two slightly differently:



I usually wash my cotton towels in regular detergent and my MFs in MicroRestore/etc. and I use a tiny bit of softener with the cotton ones. I dry the cotton ones on "high" and the MFs on "medium". Other than those diffs I treat them the same.



(No, a bit of softener does *NOT* result in any absorbency/etc. issues with my cotton towels and without it they turn out stiff as cardoard. Qualification: using Downy brand softener works out OK, but using others, especially Final Touch, *did* result in the "coated with crap" effect that people talk about.)

If they're microfiber, and you're still washing them in hot water, then I assume you haven't suffered any bad effects.

Correct, and some of them are mighty old and have been through this many, many times.

Also, can you recommend any tricks on getting klasse residue out of towels?

Very hot water and MicroRestore/etc. type detergent. Pre-spotting/pre-soaking helps a lot.

I made the mistake of letting Sonus Glanz dry into some of my better buffing cloths after wiping it off wet. They don't appear to be gritty, based on a CD test, but they just don't feel the same now. I was thinking of soaking them in rubbing alcohol...

I wouldn't expect any problems from doing that. IME MF is pretty resilient stuff and I've never had solvents like IPA cause any problems.

..From David's Article:... If you can catch your towels on the rinse cycle, pour in a cup of distilled white vinegar. This is what housewives did back in the 40's and 50's before fabric softeners were available. It works great on microfiber and really does a nice job fluffing the fibers back up to make them feel super soft again."

Just to show that even experts can disagree, Ranney from PakShack (a big MF vendor) has warned that using vinegar can adversely affect the adsorbency of MFs just as people claim that fabric softeners will do to the absorbency of cotton.



I've never experienced that and I so use vinegar for the final rinse of some MF loads; IME it can help keep them soft and fluffy. I'm just mentioning it as an further example of how YMMV with regard to so many different things and how there's seldom a 100% consensus about what is/isn't a good idea when it comes to MF care (or many other facets of detailing for that matter).